


do you like or like like me?

by on_your_left



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: M/M, dinesh and gilfoyle are in love but haven't noticed, gilfoyle is a dick, richard is accidentally a matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/on_your_left/pseuds/on_your_left
Summary: dinesh and gilfoyle have feelings for each other but are the only people on earth who haven't noticedjust a cutesy romcom sort of fic because i've nearly finished silicon valley and needed to write something fun and lighttitle is from 'like or like like' by miniature tigers
Relationships: Dinesh Chugtai/Bertram Gilfoyle
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	do you like or like like me?

It was painfully obvious to everyone who saw Gilfoyle and Dinesh together: they were crushing on each other, and _hard._

Somehow, though, neither of them had actually noticed.

Jared was the first one to pick up on the signs. He’d always been adept at solving his friends’ relationship problems in high school and, after realising how quickly his peers seemed to ditch him for the more popular kids, Jared decided to capitalise on this talent, transforming into the ‘mom friend’ as a way to keep them around. After all, he was nothing if not desperate for affection and attachment.

He began to observe the way they behaved around each other, noticing how they seemed to gravitate towards one another as though pulled by some invisible magnetic force. Jared soon discovered the name of this invisible magnetic force: infatuation.

Jared wondered how he hadn’t ever picked up on the fact that Dinesh and Gilfoyle always stood just centimeters apart. They seemed to have a physical need to be almost touching, and he assumed they probably felt grounded by each other. This thought made him smile; he loved watching people make each other happy.

Richard was the second one to notice.

They’d all been working for hours in complete silence, lost in their own worlds of coding and coffee and sleep deprivation, when Richard glanced up to check the time and found that Gilfoyle was watching Dinesh. He’d expected it to be some sort of evil death glare, but Richard noticed a softness in Gilfoyle’s eyes that he hadn’t ever seen before. He almost felt like he was intruding on an intimate moment when he watched Dinesh meet Gilfoyle’s gaze and smile softly before returning to his work.

He decided to ask Jared about it when they were alone one evening.

“Hey, Jared? Have you ever noticed anything, uh, weird going on between Gilfoyle and Dinesh?” 

“Weird in what sense, Richard?” Jared asked.

“I don’t know. Just, like, unusual stuff. I keep catching them staring at each other and I was wondering if you’d seen anything like that too.”

“I don’t like to pry into my friends’ business unless they want me to, but yeah, I have actually. I think they might have feelings for one another.”

“Do you think we should talk to them about it?”

“In my experience, no. I’ve lost more than a few friends in situations like these!” Jared laughed emptily, his voice sounding _way_ too cheerful for what he’d just said.

“But what if they don’t realise the feelings are mutual?”

“Richard, if you want to talk to them about it, go ahead. I’m staying out of that kind of thing, though.”

The next morning, Richard found Dinesh by himself in the kitchen, and thought it was the perfect opportunity to subtly ask him if he liked Gilfoyle. He began to think of sly ways to slip it into conversation and find out what he needed to know, and was actually quite impressed with this newfound discretion.

“Morning, Richard!” Dinesh smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. Now was the perfect opportunity…

“Dinesh, do you like Gilfoyle?” Richard blurted out, mentally smacking himself for sabotaging a perfect plan yet again.

“What? Do I _like Gilfoyle?_ What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He spluttered, his discomfort acting as a clear telltale sign of his feelings.

“Nothing. Nevermind.”

Richard spotted Gilfoyle in the garden later that day, completely absorbed in his bowl of cereal.

“Hey, Gilfoyle, can I ask you something kind of private?” 

“No.”

“Do you like Dinesh?”

“No.”

“Great. Thanks. Good talk.”

 _Well, that was helpful,_ Richard thought to himself as he sat back down at his desk and delved into his work.

\----

Dinesh had been mulling over that conversation all day, wondering what the fuck had prompted Richard’s completely insane assumption. As if _he_ would ever have feelings for Gilfoyle… Were they even talking about the same guy? The Gilfoyle who did nothing all day except eat, insult people and write shit code? Dinesh actually laughed at the thought; he would _never_ have feelings for Gilfoyle, with his gross hair and boring shirts and stupid edgy ring that screams _‘I want everyone to know I’m cool’_. He smiled and shook his head, thinking about all of the petty arguments they’d had over absolutely nothing, before his blood ran cold and it dawned on him...

_I have feelings for Gilfoyle._

He cringed and put his head in his hands, realising that it must be embarrassingly obvious to make Richard confront him about it. If _Richard_ knew, then of course Gilfoyle did. He decided he had to talk to him about it. Little did he know, Gilfoyle was actually having a similar epiphany in his own room.

Gilfoyle had also decided that talking was the best option - he swung his door open just as Dinesh lifted his hand to knock, and the two men came face to face.

“We need to talk.” Dinesh managed to say, blatantly avoiding making eye contact. Now was not the time for an intense staring contest.

“I agree.” Gilfoyle replied, his flat tone giving away nothing, as usual. Dinesh mentally cursed him for being able to keep so cool all the time.

Gilfoyle stepped back and gestured for Dinesh to enter his room, something he had not been privy to many times in the years they’d lived together. He could understand why; Gilfoyle’s room was dark, as though he’d gone to every effort to block out any sources of light, and every surface had at least one empty beer bottle on it. There were weird posters of obscure bands on the walls, and Dinesh smiled at this, realising his bedroom perfectly captured his personality. Weird, dark and kind of creepy.

“So…” Dinesh began, his mind suddenly drawing a blank as everything he’d planned on saying dissolved into nothingness.

Gilfoyle took over. “Richard said something to me earlier, and it prompted a lot of… self-reflection. And I decided I should let you in on this self-reflection.”

“Same here!” Dinesh forced the excitement out of his voice and tried to match Gilfoyle’s monotonous drawl. _Play it cool._

“Oh yeah? What did Richard say to you?”

“He, uh, asked me if I… if I liked you.”

“And?”

“And what?” Dinesh deliberately acted oblivious, knowing exactly what question was coming next.

“Do you?” Gilfoyle narrowed his eyes and looked like he was trying to conceal a smile. Or a smirk? Dinesh panicked, suddenly wondering whether this was all some kind of elaborate prank put together by the other guys.

“Of course not!” He practically shouted, laughing nervously.

“Then why are you here?”

Dinesh hesitated.

“I’m just saying, if I very hypothetically did have any kind of feelings for you, which I obviously don’t, because you’re gross, but if I did, would those feelings be… reciprocated?” He stammered, daring himself to make eye contact with Gilfoyle, whose expression gave away absolutely fucking nothing.

Gilfoyle broke out one of his weird laughing fits and grinned at Dinesh.

“You like me.” He declared triumphantly.

“No I fucking don’t!”

“Then what the fuck was all that about just now? Asking if I reciprocate your feelings?”

“My hypothetical feelings!” 

“Bullshit! You like me. Dinesh has a crush on Gilfoyle. How adorable!”

“You know what, fuck you, man. I come in here and try to be vulnerable and open for once, and you _mock_ me? Fuck this!” Dinesh stood up and made for the door.

Gilfoyle sighed.

“Sit down, Dinesh.”

“Why the fuck should I do anything you tell me to do?”

“Just sit down, okay?”

Dinesh made a point of walking as slowly as he physically could, eventually making it back to the chair he’d been sitting on before.

“I was just fucking with you, man. You need to lighten up a bit.”

“So you tell me to sit back down just to rip into me even further?”

“Just shut up for one fucking second!” Gilfoyle’s words were angry but his tone was light, and Dinesh finally relaxed.

A few seconds passed.

“I just wanted to say that if you did, hypothetically of course, have some kind of feelings for me, then I would, _hypothetically_ , return those… feelings.” Gilfoyle winced when he said that last word, as though it physically pained him to say something so honest and nice.

Dinesh had to force himself not to start grinning like an idiot; he wanted to savour this moment and not ruin it by being uncool. He kept his poker face up for a grand total of three seconds.

“You’ve got a _crush on me!_ ” He mocked in a stupid sing-songy voice, revelling in the way Gilfoyle looked uncomfortable for once.

“Do _not_ make me regret telling you this,” he replied bluntly, but he was smiling too.


End file.
